09 avril 2024

André ROTH

Biography

A family of pioneers

André ROTH was born on August 17, 1891 in Tramelan, Switzerland, into one of the first Adventist families in Europe. His father, Gustave ROTH, built the first Adventist chapel in Europe in the garden of his home, which was inaugurated on December 15, 1883 and dedicated by Ellen G. WHITE at a ceremony on December 25, 1886.

As a child, André was confronted with the legal obligation to attend his village elementary school on the Sabbath. His parents decided to send him as a boarder to Europe's first Adventist elementary school, La Perle, near Bienne, Switzerland. He stayed there for 5 years, from 1895 to 1900.

Studies in the United States

In 1910, Gustave ROTH is called by the General Conference to lead the work on behalf of French-speaking North Americans. André left Switzerland with his parents at the age of 19. He continued his studies at South Lancaster Junior College and then at Washington Missionary College between 1910 and 1914.

It was during his studies that he met Hazel Julia WORDEN, whom he married on September 5, 1916, in Gasport, New York. The couple had 3 children. Lionel (1920) became a doctor, Elvire (1925) worked as a librarian in Chicago and Ariel (1927) headed the Geoscience Research Institute of the General Conference.

Missionary in Haiti

In 1916, the young couple went to Haiti, where André was appointed Secretary of the Haitian Mission. He became President of the Mission in 1918.

Director of Collonges

In 1922, André was appointed Director of the Séminaire Adventiste du Salève in Collonges-sous-Salève. He held this position from 1922 to 1930.

The Seminary, which had just moved to France the previous year (1921), urgently needed to develop its infrastructure. André set about finding the financial means to build a new cafeteria (1924) and the emblematic "Central" (1928), which served as classrooms, administrative offices and library. These new buildings offered students much more functional facilities. André's passion for photography leaves a precious legacy of images of school life in the "belle époque".

Back to Mission

In 1930, André returned to Haiti as Director of the Séminaire franco-haïtien and President of the Mission franco-haïtienne de Cap Haïtien. During the Second World War, his Swiss nationality enabled him to be chosen by the Red Cross to serve as a volunteer inspector of prisoner-of-war camps in the Caribbean basin.

While he was in Haiti, his wife Hazel died. She was buried in Haiti in 1947.

After his wife's death, André returned to the U.S. to teach at Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., as a professor of French language and culture, preparing future missionaries for work in French-speaking countries.

Manager of La Lignière

André returned to Europe between 1955 and 1962 as Director of the Clinique La Lignières on Lake Geneva. The 7 years he worked there put the medical institution back on a sound financial footing.

In 1962, at the age of 71, André was called to direct the Gitwe Adventist College in Rwanda. It was not until 1965 that he truly retired to Berrien Springs near Andrews University. His son Ariel was called to the Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University in California, and he joined his daughter Elvire in Chicago.

On January 30, 1986, at the age of 94, André died at his daughter's home in Chicago. He is buried in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

André Roth, Director of Collonges between 1922 and 1930.

The ROTH family property is located on Grand-Rue in Tramelan.

In this large house, the Roths run a tailor shop, a grocery store, a hat shop, a shoe repair shop and a bakery.

André's grandparents, Georges Roth and his wife Elisabeth Steiner-Roth, had 11 children (pictured in front of the store), 7 sons and 4 daughters. Many of them went on to work for the Adventist church.

In the garden of the ROTH family home in Tramelan, Gustave, the eldest of the boys, built Europe's first Adventist chapel at his own expense, at a cost of 3,300 francs (a worker's daily wage at the time was 2 francs a day). The inauguration took place on December 15, 1883.

First visit in 1886

Ellen G. WHITE came to Tramelan on several occasions. On the occasion of her first visit, she wrote in her diary:

"We arrived in Tramelan around noon on Friday, May 21, 1886, and were welcomed by the Roth family. Brother and sister Roth are very kind and wholeheartedly attached to the truth. They have seven sons and three daughters living. One of their daughters died in the faith not long ago. All are firm in the truth because they are old enough to understand. The family is in one of the best situations among our brothers and sisters in Switzerland. The father and eldest son are tailors, and the second son is a baker. The latter is involved in missionary work and is preparing to join the Work. He is a man of great qualities. A young woman in the family works in our Basel office. She knows French, German and English. The third son also works in our offices. This visit to the ROTH family was a great joy for us.

Dated May 22, 1886, Ellen G. WHITE added:

"The ROTHs have a thriving business and live in a large house. Alongside their tailor shop, they run a commercial complex with several departments: grocery, millinery, shoemaking and bakery. ... They have two particularly lively and intelligent boys: one aged nine, the other eleven or twelve. Friday evening (the 21st): eleven people came from La Chaux-de-Fonds and we gathered in a large room of the house. I was asked to speak, which I did, even though I was quite tired."

Second visit in 1887

Ellen G. WHITE returned to Tramelan on December 24, 1886 for the chapel dedication and stayed several days with the ROTHs. The newspaper "Signes des temps" of February 17, 1887 gives the following information:

"On February 6 last, Sunday afternoon at two o'clock, a sympathetic audience came for the second time to hear a religious lecture given by Mrs. Ellen G. White at the Evangelical Chapel in Tramelan. Mrs. WHITE, who spoke in English and whose words were translated into our language as she went along, treated the subject of temperance from the Christian point of view with her characteristic elevation. Pastor GROSS, from Tramelan, president of the local temperance section, well known for his activity and blessed work, lent his benevolent support to the meeting. We pray to the Lord that it may contribute to the glory of His name.

The ROTH family in 1911 in the USA. From l. to r., children Ruth, André, Herminie and parents Louise and Gustave.